New VW Golf revealed - Introduction

PRICE from £12,500 (est) ON SALE Late 2008 YOU’LL LIKE A Golf to the core YOU WON’T Understandably unadventurous

Volkswagen is going back to the future with the next Golf.

It borrows styling cues from the original model of 1974 and 1998's Mark IV – arguably the prettiest of the previous five Golfs – while using the underpinnings of the current car, which many people regard as the finest all-rounder.

Design chief Walter De Silva believes that a lot of people who buy Golfs do so because they like the perceived simplicity and quality of the car, and has made those characteristics priorities again, there's nothing remotely surprising about the new car, but therein lies a lot of its appeal.

It's also cheaper to build than the current model – savings which Volkswagen says it has been able to pass on to buyers.